Uncle, Protector, Soldier
by booksandmusic19
Summary: Inspired by bemj11's I Knew My Son Was a Soldier. After the events at the Wal-Mart parking lot, how does Nessie cope with the fact that her family was threatened?


Disclaimer: I don't own **anything. **:(

_This was inspired by bemj11's fic I Knew My Son Was A Soldier. (It's in my favorites).

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Nessie was on the couch when Esme and Alice returned. She sat, curled up in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest.

Being in a family of vampires meant that she had seen her fair share of fights. Things had happened before. She had even participated in her own fair share of growling – and getting snarled at. But even when they were around other covens, like the Denali coven, or even Peter and Charlotte, it had always stopped before someone had gotten hurt.

There was that one time when Jake had gone too far with one of his jokes to Rosalie, but Nessie had been able to get in between her aunt and her best friend before anything happened. This time it had been different.

Jake and she had been in the Wal-Mart parking lot, hanging out with some of his friends, when the coven had shown up. Nessie knew almost immediately what was going to happen: it was a secluded part of town and an easy place to hide the bodies. Emmett had come over, and Jake was about ready to phase, when Alice and Jasper had arrived.

The tallest member of the other coven had lunged, then, reaching out for Nessie, no doubt feeling that the current blood supply was being threatened. That was when Alice had jumped in between and the vampire had taken a huge chunk out of _her_ throat instead. Alice's throat, not Nessie's.

Nessie knew full well that had Alice not interfered, she would probably be bleeding to death right now. Or dead, already. But she kept going through it in her head, trying to figure out a way she could have prevented it. She could have gotten Jake and his friends to leave; she should have been more cautious. She could have stepped back and let Emmett handle it. But no, she had to be right there next to them.

Nessie brushed a tear away from her eye. Jake would tell her she was being just like her mother – feeling guilty for everything that happened to everybody. But the vampire had lunged for _her,_ not someone else.

Alice came in the living room, looking paler than usual but with a wan smile on her face. Nessie ran up to her aunt and gave her a hug. "Auntie Alice, are you okay?" Despite her seventeen-year-old appearance and college graduate intellect, Nessie was _technically_ only eight years old. Alice hugged back and smiled. "I'll be all right once I hunt again," she reassured Nessie.

Nessie heard a low snarl from behind her, and she suddenly turned to look. Jasper and Carlisle had arrived home from their walk. Jasper was leaning forward, and Carlisle had a hand on her favorite uncle's shoulder.

Nessie quickly stepped away from Alice, letting Jasper go to his mate and perform a more detailed inspection of her injuries before kissing her firmly on the lips. Nessie tried not to be hurt by Jasper's growl; after all, his mate had almost died. It was only natural he be protective of her.

Nessie felt another surge of guilt flow through her. If she'd done something, _anything_, then maybe Alice wouldn't have almost died. But what could she have done? Renesmee wasn't quite sure _what_ she could have done, but she knew she could have done _something_.

Jasper looked away from Alice to Nessie, who had resumed her seat on the couch. "Don't feel guilty," he said. "Worse things could have happened." Renesmee shrugged, and Jasper sat down next to her on the couch.

She noticed that he kept a little bit of distance between the two of them. Probably trying not to scare her. She reached out her fingers and put them lightly on her uncle's cheek. She sent him her memories of the day: pictures of the other coven lunging at her; Alice lying prone on the ground; Jasper threatening the other vampire, his teeth inches from the other's neck; Carlisle slapping Jasper.

Jasper looked at her. "Nessie, I've seen worse things than what happened to Alice. _I've _been in worse situations." He held out his arms, and Nessie noticed once again the strange pattern of scars that covered his body. Jasper rarely spoke about them.

Nessie didn't say anything, although she knew her curiosity showed on her face. "Not all covens are… like us." He gestured to the house, to Alice, to Carlisle and Esme, who were standing behind the couch.

"A lot of covens are based on survival only. There's a lot of mistrust among these covens, and some exist just so the vampires are protected from others – larger groups are more threatening than smaller ones." She nodded. The Cullens were the largest coven Renesmee knew of.

"You know how I was changed. The newborn army I was a part of was almost like that, except it was a lot more… focused on authority."

"I was a lot different before I came to live here. When I was captain of Maria's army, and had to destroy the newborns that were no longer… useful, I knew firsthand what kind of things happen in a coven of vampires. I still know."

Jasper saw her cringe; she felt the wave of calm he directed in her direction. No. It wasn't calm that he sent out, but a feeling of security.

Renesmee heard Alice's tinkling laugh behind her. "I remember when we first came here, you were waiting for Carlisle to crack and become like every other coven leader you knew." Jasper smiled. "I thought he was just trying to gain my trust, and then he'd become like every other vampire I knew.

"That coven we encountered today? I didn't sense an ounce of caring or family."

Nessie nodded. This was all well and good, and it explained why the other coven seemed so different. Preferring still to send messages using pictures rather than speaking, she showed Jasper a picture of the only vampire she'd seen destroyed: Irina. He sensed the question in the picture, and he nodded. "Yes, I would have killed him."

Renesmee suddenly flung her arms around him. "But I don't want you to have to kill anyone," she insisted. Jasper smiled wistfully.

Nessie knew, even before the day's events, how powerful her uncle was. Although to her, Jasper's scars were what made him unique from other vampires she'd met, she knew they were a symbol of how many vampires had fought him.

And how many had _lost_.

Nessie was pretty sure that with her father's, Emmett's, and Jacob's help, the other coven would be nothing but a burning pyre by the end of an hour. But she was glad it hadn't come to that, because she knew that would mean that Alice was worse off than she was right now.

She put her hand on Jasper's cheek again, where Carlisle had hit. "Are you hurt?" she inquired. Jasper glanced over Nessie's shoulder at Carlisle. "No. I only fell because Alice had drank the blood that kept me strong."

Renesmee raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked through the hand that was still on his cheek. Jasper nodded. "I wouldn't be saying it if it weren't true."

Carlisle was standing in front of her, then. "I wouldn't have hurt him. I didn't want to. I could never intentionally hurt anyone." Jasper smiled then, though it was only a half smile. "I kept trying to make him angry enough to hurt me. That's how it's done in those other covens. You disobey the leader, and you best hope a slap on the face is all you get."

Nessie tried to hide her worry. How many times had her uncle been ripped apart by his old coven leader? No wonder he hadn't trusted Carlisle, as he'd mentioned before.

Nessie gave Jasper another hug. "I don't want you to get hurt," she whispered. "You or Auntie Alice or Rosalie, or anybody." Jasper gave her a squeeze back. "Neither do I," he said. Alice was now sitting next to Nessie, and she laughed, the sound like bells. "Having a niece really shows how much you've changed," she commented. "I remember the first time I hugged you. You thought I was attacking."

Jasper smiled. "Meeting you has made everything change."

Nessie smiled, looking around at part of her family. The family that would protect her no matter what.


End file.
